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A couple of young quarterbacks could make Friday night’s game between the Dolphins and Carolina more entertaining than a typical exhibition game.

Neither Matt Moore nor Ryan Tannehill had been told as of Thursday afternoon who will start for Miami, but Tannehill, the No. 8 pick in this year’s draft, will play a lot with the starters in any case.

He will start at some point this preseason, coach Joe Philbin said. Tannehill impressed his coaches by throwing for 167 yards and a touchdown last week against Tampa Bay’s backups.

Philbin had said he ideally would like to name his starter before the third preseason game — next Friday night against Atlanta at Sun Life Stadium — when teams typically let their starters play into the third quarter. Given that, chances are strong that Tannehill starts against Carolina so Philbin can make a full assessment.

“Whether (Tannehill starts) against Carolina or not remains to be seen,” Philbin said, “but he will get some reps with the ones, against the (starting) defense.”

Panthers coach Ron Rivera announced Thursday that Cam Newton will play the first half with the starters Friday night. Last season, Newton was rookie of the year, throwing 21 touchdown passes and running for 14 scores.

Both coaches want to give their starters about 25 snaps.

While the quarterbacks will take center stage, the Dolphins have plenty of other position battles.

• The wide receiver competition is heating up, especially with Chad Johnson out of the mix. Davone Bess, Legedu Naanee and Brian Hartline appear safe, leaving eight receivers to battle for three spots.

Roberto Wallace has been called “ankle weights” by his coaches because he hasn’t been running well in camp, but he had four catches for 71 yards against the Bucs and appears to be the leader for the fourth spot.

Special teams ace Julius Pruitt appears to have a leg up on fellow speedsters Marlon Moore and Clyde Gates for a roster spot.

And a dark horse emerged this week in little-known Chris Hogan, a former college lacrosse player and member of the practice squad late last year who has been the surprise of camp with his precise route-running and ability to beat coverage.

• No unit got more attention in the latest episode of Hard Knocks than the tight ends. Offensive coordinator Mike Sherman and tight ends coach Dan Campbell chewed out second-year pro Charles Clay and rookie third-round pick Michael Egnew for not knowing the plays well enough and missing assignments. Undrafted rookie Les Brown has been chastised for his weak blocking.

Clay redeemed himself with three catches for 49 yards and a touchdown last week, while Egnew made an acrobatic 31-yard catch.

The young tight ends, who are vying to back up Anthony Fasano, could use a good game to keep the Hard Knocks cameras off their back.

At linebacker, expect to see special teamer Jason Trusnik at middle linebacker and free agent Gary Guyton at the strong side.

Two rookies — third-round pick Olivier Vernon and undrafted Derrick Shelby — should take Wake’s spot. And seventh-round pick Kheeston Randall should also see more time at defensive tackle in McDaniel’s place.

• On the offensive line, third-year pro John Jerry might start and still needs to prove himself to the new coaching staff. The Dolphins are switching to a zone blocking scheme that requires swifter, faster linemen, and Jerry, listed at 328 pounds on the roster, said on the first episode of Hard Knocks that he weighed 360.